Italy rules out sending ships to patrol Hormuz Strait without U.N. mandate

ROME, April 8 (Reuters) - Italy will not send any ships to help police the Hormuz Strait area following a ceasefire between the United States and Iran unless it is part of a U.N.-led initiative, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday.

"It is not on the agenda. We have already said that we will not send ships unless there is a United Nations initiative," said Salvini, who is also infrastructure minister in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government.